Automatic quick firing arm



H. DELACRE 2,035,303

AUTOMATIC QUICK FIRING ARM Filed Nov. 28, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 24, 1936.

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March 24, 1936. H, DELACRE 2,035,303.'

AUTOMATIC QUICK FIRING ARM Filed Nov. 28, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 'March 24, 1936. H. DELACRE AUTOMATIC QUICK FIRING ARM Filed Nov. 28, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 litri/141.

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 H. DELACRE AUTOMATIC QUICK FIRING ARM Filed Nov. 28, 1933 March 24, 1936.

Patented 'Mal'. 24, 1930 PATENT oFFicE AUTOMATIC QUICK FIRING ARM Henri Delacre, Boulogne-sur-Seine, France Applieation November 2s, 193s, serial No. 100,134

.i In France December 6, 1932 Claims.

. In automatic repeating firearms, the force produced by the expansion of the gases of the cartridge that has just been fired are utilized for producing the recoil of the movable breech piece.

In the course of its recoil, s'aid movable breech piece ejects the empty shell and, when coming back to its initial position, inserts before it a new cartridgeinto the barrel.

This mode of Working has the following drawback: when opening under the action of the gases under pressure, the movablebreech piece permits said gases to escape through the chamber instead of being fully utilized for the propulsion of the bullet. A substantial portion of the gases is thus lost.

As a matter of fact, it is well known that the range, the penetrationv and the precision of these arms are far from being equal to the corresponding qualities of nonautomaticfirearms in which the movable breech piece is locked.

The object of the present invention is to pro` vide an automatic repeating firearm that'obviates the drawback above mentioned.

To this effect, according to the present invend tion, the whole of the movable breech piece and of the barrel, suitably locked together, is mounted in a slideway, so as to permit the recoil when a shot is iired. At the end of the recoil, the breech piece is unlocked from the barrel and temporarily maintained in this position by a catch, so that the barrel comes back alone to its front position and -ejects the empty shell. Furthermore a feeding organ containing a fresh cartridge is so arranged as to be released by the return movement of the barrel and to bring said cartridge opposite the chamber thereof, the cartridge being pushed into said chamber by the return movement of the movable breech piece, the release ci which is produced by the upward movement of the feeding organ.

Another object of my invention is to provide a firearm of the type above explained with a trigger mechanism permitting to utilize the arm either with a separate trigger-pull for each shot, or like a machine-gun.

According toanother embodiment of the prescnt invention, the feeding organ above referred to may be done away with, the cartridge being then fed directly from the clip and introduced into the cartridge chamber by the action of the movable breech piece in the course of its return movement. In this case, the movable breech piece is released from its rear position by the return movement of the barrel, at the end of this movexment. 1

Finally, it is advantageous to provide the rearm according to my invention with a device for slowing down the rate of fire, this device consisting of a cylinder in which moves a piston actingI either by compression or by suction on a uid, thus braking the return stroke either of the barrel or of the breech piece, either at the beginning or at the end of said stroke.

Preferred embodiments' of the present invention will be hereinafter described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, given merely by way of example, and in which:

Figs. 1, 2, 3 vand 4 are diagrammatic longitudinal sectional views of the rifle according to my invention showing the organs in their successive u positions in the course of the working of the mechanism;

Figs. 5, 6, '7 and 8 are cross sectional views on the lines 5 5, 6 6, 1 1 and 8 8' of Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively;

Figs. 9 and 10 are longitudinal sectional views relating to a'modiiication of the trigger mechanism;

Figs. 1l and 12 are diagrammatic views of details of the mechanism;

Fig. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment of my invention, showing the mounting of the barrel in its bed and the' various locking organs in the position for which a` shot is ready to be fired;

Fig.14 is a view similar to Fig. 13 showing these organs in their positions after a shot has been red;

Fig. 15 is a similar view showing these organs in the position in which the breech mechanism is Open;

Fig. 16 is a general view on an enlarged scale of the trigger mechanism in the position in which the rst shot is ready to be red;

Fig. 16e is a sectional view on the line IGK-ICI of Fig. 16;

Fig. 17 is a view similar to Fig. 16 showing the same organs after the second shot has been fired and before the beginn g of the recoil, in the case of the arm firing like a machine-gun;

Fig. 18 is a similar view showing the same organs after the rst shot has been red and `before the recoil in the case in which a. separate trigger-pull is required for each shot.v

As shown in the drawings and especially in Fig. 1, the barrel is prolonged by a breech 2 rigidly xed to-said barrel and in which is slldably fitted the movable breech piece 3 which contains, in the usual manner, the ring mechanism. This ring mechanism is diagrammatically illustrated 55 as including the firing pin 4 and a striker 5 inteoting lever I2 which is maintained in its lower i position as shown in Fig. 1.

This pivoting lever I2 is completed by a small channel-shaped member I3 pivoted to said lever at I4 and subjected to the action of a spring I5.

'Ihe whole of lever I2 and of member I3 constitutes the feeding device serving to convey a cartridge from clip 29 to the cartridge cham ber.

About the spindle I6 that carries pivoting lever I2 there is also pivoted a locking member I8 provided with a projection I9.

The trigger mechanism comprises the trigger 2l) pivoted at 2I about the pivot of tumbler 22, which may be actuated by a rod 23 connected to the trigger by a small connecting rod 24 and supported by a second small connecting rod 25.

The operation of the mechanism above described takes place as follows:

When a cartridge is fired (Fig. 1) movable breech piece 3 is pushed in a rearward direction by the pressure of the gases and it comes into the position shown in Fig. 2.

In the course of this recoil movement, this breech piece has caused barrel I to move rearwards together with it, due to locking piece 8 acting on the stop I0 of breech 2.

During this rearward displacement of the barrel, the feeding device ceases tobe subjected to the action of extension 1 on lever I2; however it remains in its lower position in which it is maintained by lug 26 integral with the barrel and moving along a prolonged part 21 of lever I2 (Fig. 5).

The barrel I is provided with a small projection 28 which, as shown in Fig. 2, catches a cartridge in clip 29 and drives it along to the feeding device, in which it is held by member I 3 pivoted to lever I2.

The movable breech piece 3 is locked at the end of its rearward stroke, as shown in Fig. 2, by locking member I8 the nose I9 of which has been brought by spring 3D opposite the edge I I of extension l.

In the course of its rearward movement together with movable breech 3, the end 3 I of locking piece 8 has come into contact with stationary stop 32, causing said locking piece to pivot. Consequently the nose 9 of this locking piece ceases to be located opposite stop III and the whole of barrel i and of breech 2 is released and comes back to its front position under the action of a spring 33 fitted in the gunstock. The organs are now in the position of Fig. 3.

In the course of this displacement, breech 2 performs the ejection of the empty shell, which had remained engagedv with breech piece 2, by means of the ordinary extractor, not shown in the drawings, the shell being thus ejected through port 36 provided in breech 2. This ejection is facilitated by the action of lug 3'lprovided in the usual manner for causing the shell to pivot outwardly through said port. Several other known arrangements' such as the lengthening of the ring pin, can also be employed for the ejection of the empty shell.

During this return stroke of the barrel, movable breech 3 has remained in its rear position in which it is maintained by locking member I8.

When barrel I and breech 2 have come back to their front position, as shown in Fig. 3, lug 26 has ceased to act on portion 21 of lever4 I2 and the latter, urged by spring I 5, which acts on member I 3, pivots upwardly and brings a fresh cartridge into breech 2, as shown in Fig. 3.

In the course oi' its pivoting movement, lever I2 causes locking member I8 to pivot about spindle I6. This is due to the fact that the flat face 34 of said lever comes into contact with the iiat face 34B of locking member I8, which is thus caused to pivot in a downward direction and releases breech piece 3.

The latter, under the action of a spring not shown in the drawings, but which is fitted in the gunstock and fixed to a rod 35 the head of which is engaged in a notch of extension 1, comes back to its front position as shown in Fig. 4 and pushes the fresh cartridge into barrel .I.

At the same time the extension 1 of breech piece 3 brings the feeding device in its lower position for which member I3 is ready to receive a fresh cartridge.

Locking piece 8, which is pivoted to extension I has come back to its front position. As its in- Clined surface 8 is no longer maintained by stop I0, this locking piece rotates upwardly under the action of spring 30, transmitted to it through locking member I 8. The nose 9 of locking piece 8 therefore comes back opposite stop III and the movable breech piece 3 and the breech 2 are again locked together, as shown in Fig'. 4, and also by Fig. 1.

In the course of its return movement, the movable breech piece 3 has caused striker 4 and hammer 6 to move forward a certain distance together with it, but the tumbler hook 22 has caught the lug 6 of the hammer, thus stopping its forward displacement and the arm is cocked.

The firing is controlled by trigger 20, which actuates tumbler 22 through rod 23, connected to the trigger by small rod 24.

This rod 23 is provided at its end with a tooth 38 adapted to engage with, and push, tumbler 22, as shown in Fig. 4. When trigger 20 is acted upon by the finger, tumbler 22 pivots about its spindle 2I and releases lug 6. by spring 39, strikes the firing pin 4,'so that the cartridge is fired.v

The striker, urged- 'Ihe rod 23, which may be actuated by the trigger through any suitable means, is arranged in such manner that it can engage with the tumbler 22 only when movable breech piece 3 is locked with breech 2. This ensures that no shot will be fired as long as the movable breech piece is not rigidly connected to the barrel so as to beable to drive it along in its recoil movement.

This safety is obtained in the following manner:

At its end opposed to tooth 38, rod 23 is provided with an inclined surface 40 which is in contact with the end 4I of locking piece 8. In the course of its recoil movement, this piece, acting on surface 4D, causes rod 23 to pivot about spindle 42 and its end 38 is moved upwardly and ceases to engage the tumbler 22. Rod 23 is maintained in this position as long as movable breech piece 3 is in its rear position, the Arod 38 of rod 23 be- According to a modification, the device i'orv controling the firing is so arranged as to permit Cil the arm to fire as a machine gun, the tiring of a. cartridge being possible only when the movable breech piece 3 is locked to the breech 2 of barrel i This modiiication is illustrated in Fig. 9, which shows the mechanism in its position of rest, andl in Fig. 10, which shows another position of the mechanism for which the trigger is depressed by the finger; a rst shot has been fired and the hammer is cocked.

Besides the organs above described, such as tumbler 22, trigger'20, rod 23, and small rods 24 and 25, and also locking piece 8 and its stop 32, this device further includes an oscillating piece 43 pivoted at 52 to a small connecting rod 54 by which it is carried and which is pivoted at 44, and a lever #i5 permitting this oscillating piece 43 to be actuated by the end 3i of locking piece 8 only when the hammer is cocked.

'I'he operation of this device takes place as foi lows:

When the movable breech piece 3 ,is ydriven backwards after the cartridge has been red, hammer 6 is brought into contact with lever 45 and causes it to pivot about spindle 4E. Nose 41 is caused to rotate in a downward direction andoscillating piece 43 pivots in the direction of arrow F2. It has been aboveexplained that, at the end of the recoil stroke, locking piece 8 was pivoted in a downward direction due to its coming into contact with stop 32. In its frontward return movement, this locking piece is still in this position, until, at the end of this movement, it is caused to turn upwardly so as to again lock movable breech piece 3 with breech 2.

In the course of its upward movement in the direction of arrow F3 (Fig. 10), the end 3| of locking piece 8 strikes oscillating piece 43 and the latter pushes, through shoulder 48, the tumbler lever, which releases hammer 6 and causes the next shot to be fired.

The hammer being released, lever 45 comes back to its position shown in Fig. 9. Its nose 41 causes oscillating piece 43 to pivot so that its end 53 escapes toV locking piece 8 so as not to interfere with the recoil movement, which is going to start.

The projection 49 of trigger 26 is intended to lift and to immobilize piece 43 and thus to stop firing as soonas the trigger is no longer de'- pressed by the finger.

This device.-besides the mode of firing above described, which is obtained through the action oi' locking piece 8, also permits of firing only one shot for cach trigger-pull.

To this effect, a cam 50, the boss 5| of which can occupy three .determined distinct positions under the action ofl a milled button projectingv on the outside, destroys the action of oscillating piece 43.

As shown in Fig` 11, if cam 50 is so turned as v to bring boss 5| in the position illustrated by this figure, piece 43 is lifted and it can no longer be controlled by locking piece 8 since its endv 53 no longer comes into contact with the end 3l of said locking piece (as shown in Fig. 9). In this case. each shot is red by the action of rod 23 on the tumbler, in the manner above described.

Furthermore, cam 5I] can act as a safety organ. When its boss 5I is brought into the position shown in Fig. l2, the tumbler lever can no longer be displaced toward the right hand sidesince it is blocked by said boss 5| and it therefore prevents hammer 6 from being released.

In the drawings, the various return springs have not been shown, for the sake o! clarity; only their direction of action has been shown by small arrows.

It should be notedthat in the clip that is utilized the cartridges are taken toward the rear, as if they were distributed by a magazine. This arrangement avoids theY drawbacks of a maga.- zine (slow charging of the magazine, center of gravity varying with the number of cartridges present in the magazine). 'I'his type of clip can be utilized with nonautomatic repeating rearms. This clip can be made of such a shape that it contains a great number of cartridges;

Of course the embodiment above described can be modified in its details without departing from of breech piece 3 and can be a part of the guny lock, in the usual manner. 'I'his gun-lock, which may be of any known type is not shown in the drawings, for the sake of clarity.

The whole of the barrel and of movable breech piece 3 can slide in the gunstock, which is provided with guides 6i for this purpose. In order to open the breech mechanism, so as to permit of ejecting the empty shell and of introducing l fresh cartridge in the barrel, movable breech piece 3 is maintained in its rear position, during the frontward stroke of the barrel, after the recoil movement caused by the ring by the following mechanism:

'I'he movable breech piece 3 is completed by an extension or prolonged part 'la on which is pivotally mounted the locking piece 3 cooperating with stop iii in order to lock, during the recoil movement, movable breech piece 3 and breech 2 which is rigidly fixed to barrel I.

To this extension 1 are pivoted two connecting rods 62 connected, at their opposite ends, located inside the gunstock, with a sliding piece 63 which actsl as a. cross member for said rods and is capable of sliding along guide-rod 64` which bears against pawl 63.

About this guide rod there is mounted a spring 65 interposed between sliding piece 63 and the head 64a of rod 64, so as to apply said head aga-inst pawl 66. In the course of the recoil stroke of the whole of the barrel and the breech piece, the nose 51 oi' said pawl engages in a notch 68 provided in each of the connecting rods 62 (Fig. 14). quently. the movable portion 3 of the breech is maintained in its rear position. as shown in Fig. 15, and only barrel i and breech 2 are allowed to return toward the front under the action of spring 69 tted in the gunstock. This locking of the movable portion 3 of the breech permits the ejection cf the empty shell.

When the barrel is nearing the end of its frontward stroke, it causes movable breech part 3 to be released. This release is obtained through the action of an inclined surface 10a provided on a prolonged part of the barrel. As shown in Fig.

of a cartridge,

15, this inclined surface causes pawl 66 to pivot in Consethe breech back to its front position, in which it is locked to breech 2 by means of locking piece 8 and stop I8.

In the course of this return movement the movable portion 3 of the breech has extracted a cartridge from clip 1| and 'nas pushed it into the cartridge chamber of the barrel.

As shown by the drawings, the feeding system may comprise merely a clip 1I in which the cartridges are piled in the usual manner, these cartridges being urged to move upwardly from said clip by a spring housed in the lower portion of said clip.

The cartridges are maintained in the clip, in the course of the recoil movement of the whole of the barrel and of the breech, by prolonged parts, such as'1b, integral with the movable portion 3 of the breech, and 10 integral with the barrel.

These prolonged parts are made of such a cross section that' they may slide between the side plates of the clip without catching the cartridges, which are therefore maintained in position in the cli-p during the whole of the recoil stroke of the Whole of the barrel and of the breech.

In the course of the return movement of the barrel (the movable portion 3 of the breech being kept stationary), the prolonged part 18 of the barrel comes into the position shown in Fig. 15. 'Ihe clip is therefore openedat the top, its spring pushing into the space directly behind the barrel a cartridge which will be pushed into the barrel by the prolonged part 1b of breech part 3 at the end of the return stroke thereof.

In order to facilitate the introduction of the cartridge into the chamber, I provide behind said chamber ari inclined surface 12, which guides the front end of the bullet and leads the cartridge into said chamber. This inclined surface is provided with a recess for the introduction thereinto of the prolonged part 1b, as shown in Fig. 13.

According to a modification, the rearm according to my invention can be caused either to iire like a machine-gun or to fire in the ordinary manner, each shot then requiring a 'separate trigger-pull. The arm is' provided with two triggers each corresponding to one of these modes of firing. These two triggers 13, 14 respectively are located one behind the other as shown in Figs. 16 to 18, in which I have shown the trigger mechanism on a larger scale. (The arrows show the directions in which the return springs act).

Fig. 16 corresponds to the position "ready to fi" arrow 18 and its end 23e is caused to push swinging piece 83, pivoted at 8U io a support 8i itself pivoted about stationary spindle 89. Swinging piece 83, which bears against stationary stop 82, pivots about spindle 88, which is urged in a backward direction. The nose 84 of said piece 83 is therefore disengaged from with hammer 6b which, under the action of its return spring, not shown in the drawings, strikes the head of the firing pin, thus firing the shot.

The whole of the barrel and of the breech moves backward and, in the course of this movement, rod 23 is caused to rotate in an anti-clockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 14, while the.

whole of support 8| and piece 83 comes back to its original position.

At the end of the return movement of the movable part 3 of the breechf'connecting rod 23 is released and pivots about spindle 86 in the clockwise direction, under the action oi' spring 81 (Fig. 17). But this rod 23 cannot come back into the position shown in Fig. 16 because trigger 14 is still depressed and its end 23a has been displaced toward the rear. Consequently, this end 23a bears upon the end 83 of swinging piece 83 (Fig. 17) which is pivoted in an anti-clockwise direction, thus releasing hammer i", which res the second shot, and so on.

The hammer has been cocked by the recoil of part 3 of the breech, which recoil has caused said hammer to pivot about 15 and to engage thel nose 84 of swinging piece 83, which is urged by a spring (not shown but the direction of action of which is indicated by arrow 88) to pivot about spindle 88. It is quite clear that the action oi spring 81 must be stronger than that of spring 88 and that, as soon as the barrel and the movable part 3 of the lock are locked together, rod 23 bears upon the nose 83a of the swinging piece 83 and causes the latter to pivot about spindle 80 and to release hammer 6b.

The re thus obtained is continuous like that of a machine-gun as long as trigger 14 is depressed.

Trigger 13 serves to obtain a. separate shot for each trigger-pull.

Adverting to Fig. 18, it will be seen thatvthe depressing of trigger 13 produces a displacement of trigger 14. This is due to the fact that a projection 98 of trigger 13 comes into contact with a projection 9| of trigger 14, depressing it as in the preceding case and therefore causing a shot to be fire.

'I'he pivoting of trigger 13 about its spindle 15 also brings stop 92 opposite portion 83h of the swinging piece 83, thus preventing said swinging piece from rotating about its spindle 80. It follows that when the movable part 3 of the breech is brought back to its front position, rod 23, ai-

though it is released by said movable part oi the breech, cannot move (through the action of spring 81) the nose 83e. of swinging piece 83 so that the hammer remains engaged with the nose 84 of this piece. I

In order to lre the next shot,` it is therefore necessary to release trigger 13 and again tpfdepress it. l./

In order to save ammunition in the case of the arm ring as a machine-gun and to ensure a rate of fire such that a shot is not fired until the arm has been brought bac i/nto firing position, all the reflex movemen of the marksman being, corrected, it is adva ageous to provide a device for slowing down the rate oi ilre. On the other hand, this will 'revent any exaggerated heating of the arm a d will permit a greater precision and efficiency of the re.

This device caribe made as follows:

An air cylinder Q8 (Fig. 13) is tted with a piston 95 ,(o'rn stamped leather for instance) the rod 88 of which is rigidly connected to barrel I.

In the course of the recoil stroke, air is allowed to penetrate into the chamber 91 of this cylinder by flowing past the turned edge of the leather. During, the return stroke, the air thus admitted is compressed and can escape only through a port 8l. The rate oi flow through said port can be adjusted by means of a screw 99.

Of course, this slowing device, instead of work ing with air could utilize, oil, alcohol, glycerin or any other nonfreezng liquid. Its piston might be metallic, being then provided with a check valve.

Also, instead of working by compression, the device could work by suction.

In the embodiment above described the fresh cartridges are admitted from the lower part of the breech mechanism. This arrarnrement is not the only possible one, since the cartridges might be admitted from the upper partrof the breech mechanism, through the action of gravity.

It should also be well understood that, in order,

While I have described what I deem to be a practical and eilicient embodiment of my invention, it should be well understood that I do not i wish to be limited thereto es there might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition and form of the parts without departing from the principle of my invention as comprehended within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is: E

1. An automatic repeating iirearm which oomprises in combination, a gunstock, a barrlslidable in said gunstock, a breech rigidly iixed to said barrel, a breech piece movable in said breech, separate elastic means for urging said barrel and said breech piece respectively toward the front of the gunstock, a locking piece pivotedA to said breech piece for locking said barrel and said breech piece together when both are in their front positions, means for bringing said locking piece into inoperative position after a given displacement of the whole toward the rear with respect to said gunstock whereby said barrel is unlocked from said breech piece and is allowed to return to its front position, at least one rod fixed to said breech piece and housed in said gunstock, said rod being provided with a notch, a pawl pivoted in said gunstock, elastic means for pushing said pawl into said, notch, whereby said breech piece is locked in its rear position at the end of its backward stroke, and an inclined surface carried is unlocked from its rear position and allowed to return to its front position.

2. An automatic iireann according to claim 1 further including a clip housed backward and just upon the barrel and including two parallel side plates for guiding the cartridges therein, a spring for urging the cartridges in said clip upwardly toward said barrel, and a part integral with said breech piece slidable between said side plates in such manner as to maintain the cartridges in position in said clip and to prevent them from being caught or displaced in the course of the backward movement of both of the breech piece and the barrel.

3. An automatic firearm according to claim 1, further including a clip housed backward and upon the barrel and including two parallel side plates for guiding the cartridges between them, a spring forurging the cartridges in said clip upwardly toward said barrel, and means for guiding the cartridges in position, including a part' rigid with said barrel slidable between said side plates, l said part having an inclined surface adapted to guide the head of the top cartridge intoy iiring position into the barrel, a part integral with said breech piece having a vertical front end, said last mentioned part being adapted to slide between said side plates and being operative to push forward the top cartridge in the clip into iiring position through said vertical front end upon release of the breech piece, said part rigid with the barrel being provided with a recess in its inclined surface adapted to receive said front end of the part integral with said breech piece when said breech pieceis in locked position.

4. An automatic firearm according to claim l in which the rod rigid with said breech piece is provided with two parallel elements, a, cross member carried by said elements, another rod, parallel with the first mentioned one and along which the said cross member is slidable and a head carried by said last mentioned rod and adapted to cooperate with said pawl.

5. An automatic firearm according to claim' 1 in which the rod rigid with said breech piece is provided with two parallel elements, a cross member carried by said elements, another rod,l parallel with the iirst .mentioned one and along which the said cross member is slidable, a head carried by said last mentioned rod and adapted to cooperate with said pawl, and a spiral spring interposed between said cross member and said head, the whole forming both the elastic means for urging said breech piece toward the front of the gunstock and the elastic means pushing said pawl into said notch.

HENRI DELACRE. 

